Page 10 of Storm in a Teacup
“Ben,” they call. “Is that you?”
I squint, taking a moment for the recognition to hit.Shite.Molly. My ex. We dated for three years but broke up last May.
The thing is, I’m the kind of person who others prefer in low doses—too much of me can be excessive. In the end, I was too much for Molly.
It’s not like our breakup was traumatic or anything, but…she stopped laughing at my jokes. She would roll her eyes at me, and not in a you’re-silly-but-I-still-love-you way. We fell out of love. It happens.
It takes great effort to not throw myself off this cliff.
“Molls? Hiya.” I walk my bike closer to her.
She looks gorgeous, though she always did whilst sweaty. However, no pangs of longing make an appearance. Which is toobad—she’d be an easy way to get over David.
That was a horrible thing to think. Never mind. I hope she has moved on from me as well and won’t let me ever attempt to use her.Jesus.
She comes in for a hug. “How are you?”
“Good, fine.”Bad, terriblewould have led to some follow-up questions. “Isla and I are finally opening our café. End of this week, in fact. So, if you’re ever in Edinburgh…” She won’t ever be in Edinburgh. She hates the city.
“Yeah, for sure,” she lies. “Congrats on that.” She crosses her arms. “I wasn’t expecting to catch you out here.”
“It’s a nice day.”
Her mouth quirks, the same thought likely on her mind. Which is one of the reasons we used to work so well. We had a similar thought process a lot of the time.
“How are you doing?” I inquire, more out of politeness than anything else.
“Oh, good. I’m seeing someone.”
I smile genuinely, even though that wasn’t at all what I asked. “Happy to hear. I’m not, but that’s okay.”
She gives a pitying look. “Thatisokay.”
“That’s why I said it.” I buckle my helmet, wheeling my bike back onto the path. “Listen, it was good to see you. I’ve got to get going.”
She waves goodbye, then stations herself at the lookout spot.
That’s actually where we first met, so it’s not like it wasmyspot. It was my spot, her spot, then it becameourspot, especially after we repeatedly lost a few items of clothing here, and now it’s my spot, and her spot again. That’s how life works sometimes.
I finish the trail and head back to the trailhead, stopping in thecafé to get my muffin and chat with Angus for a while. I eventually head back to Edinburgh, feeling refreshed and lighter.
Though by the time I get back, the heavy feeling that lives inside of me has returned. I can hardly make it up the singular step into my flat, the weight nearly too much to bear.
CHAPTER FOUR
Linny
I squint up from the candelabra I’m cataloging as the bell over the door of the antique shop jingles. My shoulders sag when I realize it’s only my Auntie Carolyn. We haven’t had a single customer today. There are a lot of days like this, but we still manage to do fine overall due to frequent sales of big-ticket items. However, the days pass by much quicker when people actually come into the store.
“The café next door is really coming along,” Carolyn notes as she sets a box of bronze picture frames on my counter. Carolyn is sporting burgundy pants with a matching burgundy blouse, white permed hair holding a red clip-in flower. She owns one of those flower clips in every color.
“They’re supposed to open in a couple of days,” I comment, glancing at the box of frames.
We’ve had this conversation before. We’ve had this conversation practically every day since the café started to move in next door. Auntie Carolyn will walk by it on her way into the store, remark on the progress they’ve made, and I will offer their opening date, which has been posted on their light blue front door forthe past three months.
“When is Melanie’s wedding?” Carolyn asks me, another question that has been posed to me before.
“Six-ish weeks,” I answer. Mel’s wedding in Edinburgh is fast approaching. And yes, Carolyn has received an invite, so she does know the date of the wedding.
